To follow up, 682 is pretty overused, and while some may get scared by chase scenes, having him pop up over and over would get more annoying then scary. However, this doesn't mean he absolutely can't be incorporated.

Take for example, FlyingAlien's idea could work, or some other way for it to maybe hint that he's loose and nearby, but not exactly tell you outright, for example, perhaps you find a large set of blast doors completely blown open with a vat of acid on the inside, with the sign that says "SCP-682" next to it, after you find it you can hear very faint roars or growls in the distance, and maybe (and I mean maybe) he can destroy a wall and try to attack you for a bit before you run the hell away screaming like a little girl.
You never know when (more like if) he's going to attack you, and having him seem just a ways a way could give you the tension which provides a nice warm homebred feeling of fear, delivered straight to your door in a nice paranoid package.

That could work, but the problem is, it's too easy for the player to start thinking "Ugh, will they just FUCKING SHOW ME IT ALREADY instead of keeping me in the dark about what it is? This is just getting fucking annoying." Instead of "WHERE IS IT I HEAR IT WHAT IS IT OH SHIT OH SHIT." A monster stays scary the less you see of it, but after so long of not actually seeing it, it just becomes more ambiance. You know it won't appear in the game, so the sounds are pointless and not frightening at all, nor do they add to tension or atmosphere. I've played horror games where I've started walking backwards through doorways in the desperate hope that something fucking scary will actually happen instead of hearing noises constantly and the game trying to build atmosphere based off that alone.

One of the reasons Amnesia is so pants-shitting is because it mixes these two elements together perfectly. You know SOMETHING is searching for you, and the appearances are spaced perfectly so that it remains a constant presence even when it's not onscreen.

To follow up, 682 is pretty overused, and while some may get scared by chase scenes, having him pop up over and over would get more annoying then scary. However, this doesn't mean he absolutely can't be incorporated.

Take for example, FlyingAlien's idea could work, or some other way for it to maybe hint that he's loose and nearby, but not exactly tell you outright, for example, perhaps you find a large set of blast doors completely blown open with a vat of acid on the inside, with the sign that says "SCP-682" next to it, after you find it you can hear very faint roars or growls in the distance, and maybe (and I mean maybe) he can destroy a wall and try to attack you for a bit before you run the hell away screaming like a little girl.
You never know when (more like if) he's going to attack you, and having him seem just a ways a way could give you the tension which provides a nice warm homebred feeling of fear, delivered straight to your door in a nice paranoid package.

A reference would do well, or some indirect effect (e.g. 682's offscreen shenanigans opens up a previously unavailable path further into the facility, etc.) That is to say, using it to add to the atmosphere rather than the gameplay.

A reference would do well, or some indirect effect (e.g. 682's offscreen shenanigans opens up a previously unavailable path further into the facility, etc.) That is to say, using it to add to the atmosphere rather than the gameplay.

But it really does not need any legit screentime.

Okay, I'm really trying to avoid starting a flamewar here, so I'll address your points one at a time as you make them, starting with:

But it really does not need any legit screentime.

Yes it does, or you might as well not add it at all. Full stop. Eventually, the player will know that 682 is not going to be a threat at any point, and they'll just go, "Oh, look, 682 broke some shit up again, neat." and not give any amount of fucks. For a monster to be both scary and threatening, it needs to stay unseen and mysterious but also needs to make enough appearances that the player knows it's a threat and is always unsure about when it might show up, which is where tension comes into play.

Also hey guys if i discovered that systematically rating someone's posts dumb one-by-one is a good way to make a point!

Yeah I've had a lot of that by some people in the thread. Why argue your point when you can just give everyone boxes!

And honestly, 173 isn't bad, 682 isn't bad, a lot of others people hate aren't bad either. Simple, yes. Bad, no. People just have ridiculous standards these days and think that it makes them cool and professional to rag on something people like to hate.

Okay, I'm really trying to avoid starting a flamewar here, so I'll address your points one at a time as you make them, starting with:

Yes it does, or you might as well not add it at all. Full stop. Eventually, the player will know that 682 is not going to be a threat at any point, and they'll just go, "Oh, look, 682 broke some shit up again, neat." and not give any amount of fucks. For a monster to be both scary and threatening, it needs to stay unseen and mysterious but also needs to make enough appearances that the player knows it's a threat and is always unsure about when it might show up.

You are not understanding what I am saying.

I am saying it can work as background flavor for people familiar with the lore, while others who are unfamiliar would not notice.

It is not a case of Chekhov's gun if the gun is never put in a spotlight. A new hole in the wall shows up halfway through the game, for instance. That's all you really need to know. That does not necessitate a fistfight with cthulu.

What I'd like is some kind of section where you have to get deeper in to the facility to obtain something but there's a door only 682 could break in the way. You would have to head to a remote area of the accessable facility to release 682 from a control panel, and then you return to see the door blown off, maybe with some debris and dead researchers (maybe one of those mary sue bastards) scattered on the floor.

I am saying it can work as background flavor for people familiar with the lore, while others who are unfamiliar would not notice.

It is not a case of Chekhov's gun if the gun is never put in a spotlight. A new hole in the wall shows up halfway through the game, for instance. That's all you really need to know. That does not necessitate a fistfight with cthulu.

There's another angle you're not taking into consideration - dissolving only parts of the wall of tension you're building around the player, and replacing it with something entirely new and terrifying. Instead of SCP 682 popping up to have tea and D-class, have him appear, but only once in one session(which will become increasingly long since saves work now.) If you escape him, he will not appear again, but you still don't know who or what Bll is, you still don't know where 173 is, you still don't know when 106 will pop up to punch you in the dick, and you still don't know what that new element that replaces 682 is.

A 682 chase would not break the game's horror as you seem to think, if done right. Having him appear multiple times to chase you is not doing it right, but neither is adding him in only as noises in the background. This would also put the game in a state of flux - you don't know what is going to happen at any given time, and are afraid to proceed. Also, I think there needs to be something that finds the player if they camp, so there's a logical reason for your character to not just curl up in an office under a desk and wait for SCP to clean up the clusterfuck, since it's their PRIMARY SITE.

There's another angle you're not taking into consideration - dissolving only parts of the wall of tension you're building around the player, and replacing it with something entirely new and terrifying. Instead of SCP 682 popping up to have tea and D-class, have him appear, but only once in one session(which will become increasingly long since saves work now.) If you escape him, he will not appear again, but you still don't know who or what Bll is, you still don't know where 173 is, you still don't know when 106 will pop up to punch you in the dick, and you still don't know what that new element that replaces 682 is. A 682 chase would not break the game's horror as you seem to think if done right. Having him appear multiple times to chase you is not doing it right, but neither is adding him in only as noises in the background.

Edited:

Does it ever say how large 682 is? Besides, he'd just change his size with his mystical mary-sue powers.

I would concede to having a chase at the very end of the game as a means of dissolving tension.

That is to say, you find the hypothetical exit corridor and 682 chases you out and you both escape. Presumably, you both join forces and rob a bank after the credits roll, I'm not picky.

However, that sort of thing is devastating to tone and atmosphere in the middle of a story like this, even given it's free-form nature. In terms of gameplay, a bit of 682 might work as fan-service and a reward for actually surviving until the end. As for having him stalk you at any point in the middle, I just can't see that working.

23rd April 2012
Last edited by Strongbad; 23rd April 2012 at 10:22PM.
Post #1018

I would concede to having a chase at the very end of the game as a means of dissolving tension.

That is to say, you find the hypothetical exit corridor and 682 chases you out and you both escape. Presumably, you both join forces and rob a bank after the credits roll, I'm not picky.

However, that sort of thing is devastating to tone and atmosphere in the middle of a story like this, even given it's free-form nature. In terms of gameplay, a bit of 682 might work as fan-service and a reward for actually surviving until the end. As for having him stalk you at any point in the middle, I just can't see that working.

Or it could reveal at the end that you were Dr. Kondraki in disguise the whole time, and at the end, you jump onto 682's back as he chases you and ride him into the sunset. Of course, now that you mention it, one place a chase with 682 would fit perfectly is, in fact, the end. 682 chases you through the final part of the facility before the exit, eating your shit if you die and reaching the game's climax as you must quickly escape him, finally closing a blast door, filling the room with acid, ect. You get rid of him somehow, then slowly walk outside of the foundation as the sun rises.

I would concede to having a chase at the very end of the game as a means of dissolving tension.

That is to say, you find the hypothetical exit corridor and 682 chases you out and you both escape. Presumably, you both join forces and rob a bank after the credits roll, I'm not picky.

However, that sort of thing is devastating to tone and atmosphere in the middle of a story like this, even given it's free-form nature. In terms of gameplay, a bit of 682 might work as fan-service and a reward for actually surviving until the end. As for having him stalk you at any point in the middle, I just can't see that working.

Assuming they scale 682 down, he could be like 173 in that he just stalks the halls. Except he wouldn't show up nearly as much. Having a gigantic rotting monster sniffing around for you in the dark would create your beloved tension.

Though I still don't see how a chase sequence wouldn't succeed it that either.

I'm not sure if anyone else thinks this. But I would be welcome to the game falling back into an eerie silence after escaping from 682. Also I would think that 682 would look more like a velociraptor if it was chasing something down in small hallways.

I'm not sure if anyone else thinks this. But I would be welcome to the game falling back into an eerie silence after escaping from 682. Also I would think that 682 would look more like a velociraptor if it was chasing something down in small hallways.

except velociraptors were the size of geese and they were garbage little scavengers

I really liked the points made into the 682 discussion, but i just want to see how they make his appearance ingame.
I mean, we only really know how his skull look like.

I'd like it if it was put in exactly how that picture shows it; as if it just broke out of an immobilization containment procedure or had a bad go with another big SCP.

It can squeeze through the corridors because something's whittled it down to a partial torso with a limb and a half to crawl with, the player can just barely stay in front of it because it's using most of its super-awesome adaptive powers to stay glued together instead of grow things to better chase you, you eventually reach a point where the exertion of trying to catch you brings it from near-immobile to flat-out-immobile, and the scenario then serves as a mid-game cutoff point because a main corridor is now filled from one wall to the other with homicidal, reptilian skeleton jelly.